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till and until

Hi,teachers

Is there any difference between the two words ? Which one is more formal than the other one and which one do English natives use most?Why?

I admit [ but I can`t explain why] that "till" sounds to me as an unfinished word.Can I use them as follows?
a] I`ll be there till Friday .
b] I`ll be there until Friday.
or better
c] I`ll be there by Friday.

Re: till and until

"Until" is an interesting word, as it consists of the Old Norse "und" plus the Old English "til", both of which meant "till". So the meaning is duplicated.

However, there is a general notion that "till" is a shortened form of "until" so you often see it written 'til.

There are some set phrases in which only one can appear (e.g. "till death do us part", "unless and until"); but on the whole, they are interchangeable. However, if the "until/till" clause begins the sentence, it's much more usual to use "until", e.g.